High Performance Disk Partition Scheme

[topcat247]

Where can I find a discussion to determine the best disk partition scheme to maximize performance for my application?

There are two main areas where performance is hoped to be maximized, host to guest network I/O on multiple (KVM) virtual machines and raw write to disk of data.

My system has 16 64-bit cores and 24GB of RAM with a 30GB SSD and a 1TB drive. The OS is installed in one 15GB partition and swap occupies another 14GB on the SSD. I have read elsewhere, with 24GB of RAM I do not need a swap partition. My boss said I can have more RAM if it will help with performance. I am free to repartition as I see fit and I believe the system will accommodate another magnetic drive.

One engineer I spoke with said I should create a RAM disk and run everything there. He could not tell me what I should mount in which partition to achieve that.

Thanks,
TopCat247

[SlowJet]

But what are you going to run on the VM's as applications.

Your machine is very powerful
Say 2 cores per VM and 4 for the host.
That would give you 6-8 VM's with 1-2GB mem and 4gGB mem for the host.

But you will need a more robust and safer storage solution.
RAID 10 with at least 4 drives for the VM's
Put your swap partition there also, as you may not be swapping much and the SSD can be used for high writes files like log's.

Personally, I think you need a real scsi storge system with RAID 6 and 11-15 drives.

SJ

[topcat247]

The deployment environment of the system is driving a smaller form factor 1U system. While RAID would be nice, I believe the hardware platform limits us to only two drives.

So is there a partition scheme which maximizes guest to host network traffic?

Is the SSD really getting me anything or should I pull it in favor of another magnetic drive?

Thanks,
TopCat247